Patient transfer board

ABSTRACT

The patient transport board is a device that aids in the mobility of individuals who may be handicapped, patient recovering from surgery, undergoing physical therapy, or a number of other reasons. The patient transport board is slid under the individual. The patient transport board forms a bridge to the next location, which the individual slides across to. The individual can use the patient transport board on his or her own or with the help of an assistant or assistants. The patient transport board is a structure that can be made out of a number of suitable materials such as but not limited to wood, plastic, carbon fiber, fiberglass, composite covered honeycomb.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/646,274, entitled “Patient Transfer Board”,filed on Jan. 24, 2005.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to patient transfer boards thatare used in physical therapy. More specifically the present inventionrelates to a patient transfer board that is ergonomically shaped and hasT-shaped handhold cut outs to aid in transferring a patient from onelocation to the next.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Individuals undergoing physical therapy or who may have varioushandicaps often require use of special equipment to aid in theirmobility. A board is often required to help an individual move from hisor her bed into a wheel chair, and from the wheel chair to a physicaltherapy mat. The board is used again in the reverse order. The board maybe used along with the assistance of another person or persons, or maybe used by the individual alone.

Various types of boards exist that are intended to aid in the oftransfer individuals from one location to the next. Most boards arerectangular and do not have designs that ease the gripping of the board.U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,216 issued to Osborn teaches a rectangular boardthat does not have an ergonomic shape and does not have cutouts thatassist the user in transferring from one location to another. U.S.Patent Application 2003-0,093,858 shows a board generally rectangular inshape with various cutouts to clear one of the wheel chair's wheels, butthe cutouts do not assist the user's gripping of the board.

Many boards have sharp contours that can either cause pain or harm thepersons being moved by such devices. The sharp contours of other boardscan cause the board to hang up or stop when it is being slid under aperson. Other boards do not have multiple griping locations, making thetask of moving someone using such a board very difficult.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a patient transferboard that allows a hospital patient, physical therapy patient,handicapped individual, or other individual to more easily transfer fromone location to another location with or without the assistance ofanother person.

It is another object of the invention to provide a patient transferboard that allows an assistant to more easily move a surgery patient,physical therapy patient, or handicapped individual, or other individualfrom one location to another.

It is another object of the invention to provide a patient transferboard that can be manufactured in such a manner that it is easy to keepclean.

It is another object of the invention to provide a patient transferboard that is more ergonomically designed than other patient transferboards on the market.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present an organization system is provided apatient transport board device, that aids in the mobility of individualswho may be handicapped, patient recovering from surgery, undergoingphysical therapy, or a number of other reasons, which overcomes theaforementioned problems of the prior art. The major elements consist of:a patient transfer board, increased taper, T-shaped handhold cutouts,reduction of board width, rounded edges and, semi-circular rounded ends.

The patient transport board is slid under the individual. The patienttransport board forms a bridge to the next location, which theindividual slides across. The individual can use the patient transportboard on his or her own or with the help of an assistant or assistants.The patient transport board is a structure that can be made out of anumber of suitable materials such as but not limited to wood, plastic,carbon fiber, fiberglass, composite covered honeycomb.

The main objected of the present invention is to provide assistance intransferring a person a bed and a wheel chair, or between a wheel chairand a physical therapy mat, and all of said steps in the reverse order.A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described herein andshown in the Figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a partof the specification, illustrate the present invention and, togetherwith the description, further serve to explain the principles of theinvention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to makeand use the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the patient transfer board;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the patient transfer board;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the patient transfer board;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the patient transfer board.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of the invention of exemplaryembodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings (where like numbers represent like elements), which form a parthereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplaryembodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodimentsare described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art topractice the invention, but other embodiments may be utilized andlogical, mechanical, electrical, and other changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. The followingdetailed description is therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense,and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appendedclaims.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it isunderstood that the invention may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques knownto one of ordinary skill in the art have not been shown in detail inorder not to obscure the invention.

Referring to the figures, it is possible to see the various majorelements constituting the apparatus of the present invention. Theinvention is a patient transfer board (20) that is ergonomically shapedand has T-shaped handhold cut outs (10) to aid in transferring a patientfrom one location to the next. The major elements consist of: a patienttransfer board (20), increased taper (16), T-shaped handhold cutouts(10), reduction of board (20) width, rounded edges (12) and,semi-circular rounded ends. A preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is described herein and shown in the Figures.

The patient transport board (20) is a device that aids in the mobilityof individuals who may be handicapped, patient recovering from surgery,undergoing physical therapy, or a number of other reasons.

The patient transport board (20) is slid under the individual. Thepatient transport board (20) forms a bridge to the next location, whichthe individual slides across to. The individual can use the patienttransport board (20) on his or her own or with the help of an assistantor assistants.

Now referring to FIG. 1 a perspective view of the patient transfer board(20) is illustrated showing the dog bone shape caused by the reductionin width at the center and the semi-circular round ends (18) andT-shaped hand-hold cutouts (10).

Two T-shaped cutout handhold sections within the central ends of theboard (20) allow for easy grasping of the board (20). The T-shapedcutouts (10) help the board (20) to be more easily controlled andgripped by its users. The cutouts (10) do not have to be limited to onlytwo locations or the shape of a “T.” The T-shaped cutout handholdsections also allow the board (20) to be lighter than a board (20) ofsimilar dimensions without cutouts (10). The T-shaped handhold cutouts(10) are typically, but not limited to five inches in length. Thecontours or edges (12) of the T-shaped cutouts (10) are rounded ortapered (16). The overall length of the board (20) is typically, but notlimited to thirty inches. The overall width of the board (20) is at thebroad section is typically, but not limited to twelve inches.

Now referring to FIG. 2 the bottom or top view of the patient transferboard (20) is illustrated. The dog bone shape caused by the reduction inwidth and the semi-circular round ends (18) are easily seen in thisfigure. The T-shaped handhold cutouts (10) are also seen in this figure.While looking down upon the board (20) from above or as if the board(20) where placed flat on the ground, the board (20) is shaped similarto a dog bone as it has a narrower section in its middle. The dog boneshape allows for easier grasping of the board (20). The minor width ofthe board (20), which contributes to the dog bone shape is typically,but not limited to 8 inches. The other design feature that contributesto the dog bone shape is the board (20)'s semi-circular round ends (18).

Referring to FIG. 3, a side view of the patient transfer board (20), thesharper taper (16) of the edges (12) of the patient transfer board (20)at each end are illustrated. The semi-circular round ends (18) aid inplacing the board (20) under an individual, as there are no sharp pointsthat may hang up or potentially cause the individual pain or harm. Thetypical thickness depending on the material of manufacture is typically,but not limited to ⅝ inch to ¾ inch.

Now referring to FIG. 4 the front view of the patient transfer board(20) shows the tapered (16) or rounded edges (12) of the patienttransfer board (20). The board (20) is rounded along all of its edges(12). The rounded edges (12) or tapers (16) may be made sharper at bothof the longer ends of the board (20) allowing the board (20) to be morewedge-like in these sections. The tapers (16) and round edges (12) allowthe users to more easily slide the board (20) under the person beingmoved. The tapers (16) and round edges (12) also give the patienttransport board (20) a more easy to grip edge contour than a board (20)with squared off ends or other shape with abrupt or sharp contourchanges.

The patient transport board (20) is a structure that can be made out ofa number of suitable materials such as but not limited to wood, plastic,carbon fiber, fiberglass, composite covered honeycomb.

It is appreciated that the optimum dimensional relationships for theparts of the invention, to include variation in size, materials, shape,form, function, and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemedreadily apparent and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, andall equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings anddescribed in the above description are intended to be encompassed by thepresent invention.

Furthermore, other areas of art may benefit from this method andadjustments to the design are anticipated. Thus, the scope of theinvention should be determined by the appended claims and their legalequivalents, rather than by the examples given.

1. Patient transport board device apparatus comprising: a flat boardconsisting of a semi-circular rounded end protion and a middle portion,each of said portions having a top surface, a bottom surface and a sidesurface extending around the perimeter of the top and bottom surfaceshaving a thickness; said flat board having an increased taper on eachside surface around its perimeter; and handhold cutouts extendingthrough the top and bottom surfaces.
 2. The patient transport boarddevice apparatus fo claim 1 wherein the flat board is esentailly a dogbone shape caused by the reduction in width at a center portion andsemi-circular round ends.
 3. The patient transport board deviceapparatus of claim 1 wherein the cutouts are in the shape of a “T.” 4.The patient transport board device apparatus of claim 3 wherein theT-shaped handhold cutouts are five inches in length.
 5. The patienttransport board device apparatus of claim 3 wherein the edges of theT-shaped cutouts are rounded or tapered.
 6. The patient transport boarddevice apparatus of claim 1 wherein the overall length of the board isthirty inches.
 7. The patient transport board device apparatus of claim1 wherein the overall width of the board is twelve inches.
 8. Thepatient transport board device apparatus of claim 1 wherein thethickness of the board is ⅝ inch.
 9. The patient transport board deviceapparatus of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the board is ¾ inch.